Hidden Secrets
by Ageha Yume
Summary: Kuroko grew up with no knowledge about his parents, so it was shocking to know that he wasn't a human despite living as one... Currently residing in the GoM's lair, he learns more about himself and for what's to come. Being a vampire isn't easy; what's more, with this new change, Kuroko was thrown in a completely different world from before. (Hiatus)
1. Chapter 1

Kuroko often wondered if his parents abandoned him and if he's unwanted. He was only a newborn when he was left at the orphanage's doorstep and all Kuroko knew was his full name and birthday. No one knew his parents and frankly, no one cared. Plus, everyone always called him 'Ghost' due to this low presence.

But that's not the only strange thing: Kuroko sometimes saw his eyes glow red and for some reason, whenever he saw blood, something inside him just threatened to break free. He suddenly became thirsty and felt the need to sink his teeth in something.

Kuroko managed to control himself before things get to out of control. He had this feeling that if he let himself go with the flow, something terrible will happen.

One morning, Kuroko walked around in the forest that's near his shelter and tried to find his animal friend. No humans really cared about him, but animals are a different story. Kuroko realized that if he wanted to be noticed, then his strange ability would disappear. That's how he made friends with an abandoned dog in this forest.

He named the dog Nigou, and they would play and spend time together. Kuroko always brought food for Nigou secretly, and tried to make sure that Nigou's healthy. The poor dog had to live under a bunch of rocks for his shelter and doesn't have the ability to hunt food. What can a small dog do in this huge forest?

"Nigou!" Kuroko called out and tried to search for his friend but to no avail. Nigou's not at his usual hiding spot and he usually would stay there to wait for him. Something's wrong. "Nigou!"

Suddenly, a loud gunshot resounded through the air, making Kuroko froze. Kuroko want to run away but what if whoever shot the gun would shoot him? He thought of Nigou and wondered if the dog will be there. The second thought overpowered the first and Kuroko ran to where the sound was heard.

When he arrived at the scene, a bullet flew past his head, missing just by a few inches. However, the bullet grazed his cheek and Kuroko hissed in pain. He can feel wet liquid dripping down his cheek and his wound is stinging like it's on fire. The pain increased and Kuroko feared how it would feel if the bullet actually entered his body.

Two people came out from the bush and both of them holding a silver gun with some unique designs. Someone crept behind Kuroko and suddenly, he found himself being held up by the shoulders.

"'Ey kid," one person started. He wore a formal suit with a device situated on his ear. A bunch of rings decorated his fingers, showing off his wealth. "Ya a vamp?"

"Vamp? What?" Kuroko is confused, but more importantly, he's scared. What would they do to him? Curse himself for letting himself be seen and that he should have made use of his ability. He struggled to break free, but the strength holding him down tightened.

Another person clarified, "He means vampire."

"Vampire? I'm human! Not a vampire!" Does vampires even exist? Why would they make that assumption?

"That bullet would only effect vampires, and humans would be left unharmed. Now answer the question truthfully or else." Kuroko knew what would be implied after the 'or else.'

He gulped. "I'm really a human!"

"Ain't got no choice. Ya should say goodbye." The man cocked his gun and aimed for Kuroko's head. Kuroko widened his eyes and immediately squeezing them shut.

Surprisingly, the impact didn't came.

Instead, what Kuroko saw is a fiery redhead and a flowing black cape. The silver bullet clattered on the ground with smoke rising.

"Humans," The redhead's voice thundered and the strangers all felt a chill down their spine. "Know your place." The person behind the duo raised his gun and aimed it at the redhead.

As if having eyes at the back of his head, the redhead snapped his fingers and the man flew backwards, an invisible force dragging him. The man hit the tree harshly and he spitted out blood.

"Now you are next." The redhead raised his hand and before he can do his trick, the two humans ran away with their tail between their legs.

However, during the moment, Kuroko saw them talking to some sort of walkie talkie device. "And you," his attention directed at Kuroko and Kuroko flinched.

He prepared himself, thinking he would be harmed but he did not expect the redhead to extend a hand to him as if asking if he's okay. Kuroko's dumbfounded and didn't know what to do. When he remembered that he hadn't gave a reply, Kuroko grasp the redhead's hand, thinking that it's cold and he led Kuroko to a mansion. Kuroko followed but was a bit confused; not knowing he just entered the vampires' lair...

/

Even the mansion felt cold. The bluenette shivered as the cold gust blew past him. The redhead seems to be fine, unfazed by the temperature. Kuroko rubbed his hands on his shoulders, hoping some friction would warm himself up.

"A-Ano, what is your name?" He asked nervously even though he's not good with interaction. That department is very lacking in skills.

"Akashi," The redhead said and Kuroko wanted to ask for his full name but stopped himself. He shouldn't stick his nose where it doesn't belong.

Kuroko also introduced himself before asking, "Akashi-kun, um, where are we?" The mansion lacked light and it's very dark though Kuroko's not uncomfortable with it, despite his family name meaning black child.

"Our lair." Akashi looked at Kuroko and continued, "including yours as well."

The bluenette pointed to himself. "Me?" he said and Kuroko began to question himself.

Should he stay in someone's place without giving something in return? That doesn't feel right. Akashi doesn't owe him anything and he's giving shelter to Kuroko. That's not fair to the redhead.

Kuroko's train of thought was interrupted when the door burst opened, and two people were wrestling on the floor. The navy teen rolled on top of the blonde, but the blonde fought back. It seems that they're having fun in their little game but was sadly ended when Akashi coughed.

"Aomine. Kise. Enough." The two surprisingly stopped all motion and knelled willingly in front of Akashi, as if he's the boss.

"Yeah, yeah/ ok, ssu!"

"Ooh, who are you?" The blonde named Kise jumped up and hovered over Kuroko. He observed the bluenette for a while before hugging him tightly. "You're so cute!"

Aomine wiggled his finger in his ear and said, "Aho, stop bothering him. Can't you see he doesn't like you?"

Kise stopped and whined, "So mean, ssu!"

"Both of you, call the others and meet me in the meeting room," Akashi said before he walks away and pulls Kuroko with him. Aomine said something like 'We're not your slave' as he walked away with Kise in tow.

When they're in the meeting room, Kuroko sat down in a chair and remained still. Soon, a patch of human rainbow strolled in the room and all sat down.

"Kuroko, meet the Generation of Miracles, purebloods of the vampire kind."


	2. Chapter 2

"What?" That was Kuroko's first response. Today sure has been hectic. Just what was up with the whole 'vampire' fiasco? First, someone called him a vampire and now someone said he's one. That was too much excitement in one package.

Akashi's response, however, were calm as if he expected Kuroko's outburst. "We are the purebloods of the vampire kind," he kindly repeated.

"That's a joke I can't believe in, Akashi-kun. Please cut it out." Kuroko said, refusing to believe in this nonsense. Kuroko was a firm realist and never believe in supernatural things.

"Then are you denying what you saw earlier?" Akashi merely questioned and knew which buttons to push to make Kuroko believe in the truth. He opened the palm of his hand and grabbed the glass of red wine handed to him by his ever faithful butler. Akashi licked his lips as he drank the wine and take few more sips, eyes never left Kuroko, paying attention to his every move.

Kuroko doesn't know what to counter that statement with. It was true that he felt a strong fear when suddenly that person pointed a gun towards him and he seriously thought that today's the day when he'll die. However, when Akashi came into the scene, everything felt very surreal and went by too fast. In a matter of seconds, one of the men was pushed by some force and hit his back against the tree bark. At that moment, that man let out an agonizing cry of pain and Kuroko winced as he couldn't imagine the level of pain that man was facing.

It went by too fast and now Kuroko was somewhat safe from harm from now.

"I-," Kuroko started. "But you don't have proof! You can't expect me to believe in these vampires stories with no proof that you are one!"

Both of Akashi's eyes turned to another shade of red and the same goes to his companions' eyes. "Would this be enough?"

"This... This was only a trick of the light!" Kuroko blurted out, strongly sticking to his beliefs.

Akashi opened his mouth, letting Kuroko see clearly of his two long fangs.

Kuroko braced his nerves, "That teeth is fake! Who knows which toy store you bought that from!"

Akashi starts to get a little bit irritated. It was very annoying how Kuroko would deny everything he sees, trying to think it logically.

Shaking his head slightly, Akashi used his last resort and without lifting a finger, the vase in front of him was lifted upwards, bobbing up and down. Kuroko gasped in surprised and stared intensly at the vase making sure that there's no strings attached to the vase lifting it.

As if knowing what Kuroko's intentions are, he used his powers again and this time, he lifted Kuroko's body.

Kuroko of course was very shocked and he went higher and higher, just few feet away from touching the ceiling. He started to panic, "Stop! Please put me down!"

"Then do you believe believe in us?"

"Yes!" Kuroko sighed in relief as he was slowly going down. Catching his breath, he then asked the question that was stuck in his head the entire time, "Why does the men from before target me and claimed that I'm a vampire?"

"... I have a theory but I'm not certain, therefore that question will be left unanswered for now. But I can say this with certainty: you'll be more safe with us compared to anyone in the world." Kise looks like he had something to say but Akashi gave him a look and whatever Kise wants to say was left unspoken.

Kuroko was deep in his thoughts, thus, The Generation of Miracles decided to gave him some time to let things settle in. When Kuroko had a much more clearer mind, Akashi assigned the job of taking Kuroko to a tour to Kise and Aomine. And just that, the whole group departed and left the spacious room.

The trio walked down the hallway in various moods. The cheerful one, namely Kise, hummed a happy tune and chatted joyfully while introducing the various places in the mansion. The other two doesn't talk much and both walked with their own pace.

"Aominecchi! Let's continue our duel and also give more information to Kuroko so he can better understand us!" Kise announced and pointed to the katanas placed securely on the shelf.

"Sure, why not. But the only one who'll beat me is me," Aomine smirked and walked inside the room. Kuroko followed shortly and looked around with curiousity. The room lacked a lot of furnitures, giving space for its participants to battle and fight to their heart's content. The pale background lighten up the room and everything just seems so clean.

Kuroko sat at the corner and watched the two battle to and fro. Katanas clang against each other, the sharp blade sizzled on the contact. Aomine and Kise both jumped backwards and charged forward, swinging down their weapon with considerable force. The two went on for some time, but clearly, Aomine has the upperhand as it seems that Kise can only block and not attack so far.

Aomine grinned in satisfication, pleased that Kise wasn't going down without a challenge.

Kise gritted his teeth, unhappy with the outcome. At this rate, he wouldn't land a hit on Aomine. His eyes turned red and he spread his arms, summoning a large wave of water.

Aomine diverted his gaze when he noticed Kuroko's confused look and remembered that they still need to explain things to Kuroko, "We vampires all have a main power that we specialize in. For instance, Akashi's power is being able to control gravity. That's why he can make any object go against the natural force of gravity."

Aomine dodged the attack and continued, "Kise's power was to control water and can move it however he wish. In addition, pureblood vampires can control those inferior than them using their first name, that's why vampires always gave out either their last name or fake names as a precaution."

Aomine clapped his hands together and Kise's attack vanished, "Damn Kise! I'm trying to explain here and you're so not helping!"

"A-Aomine-san, your eyes..." Kuroko pointed out.

"Oh that, our eyes tends to turn red when we use our powers or when we're drinking/wanting to drink blood. So," Aomine shrugged his shoulders, "Any questions so far?"

Kise choked a laugh, "Aominecchi, being a teacher doesn't suit you, ssu!~"

"Shut up!"

"Umm... none at the moment," Kuroko answered slowly.

"Uhh... so, I know that's a lot to take in, on the existence of vamps and our powers, but I think you'll fit in! You know, since Akashi wanted you to join, that symbolize that you're special as well!" Aomine grinned, trying to cheer Kuroko up seeing as he wasn't in a happy mood due to his noticeable frown.

"Thank you, Aomine-san."

Kise frowned as he watched their interaction, "Aominecchi!" The water turned into sharp blades and zoomed toward Aomine and managed to cut his hips.

"That fucking hurts, Kise!" Aomine shouted.

"Are you alright, Aomine-san?!" Kuroko asked worriedly and glanced at the wound closer. It was startling to see the wound healed by itself and all that was left was the blood.

Thump.

"Bastard," Aomine jumped back to his feet and went back to fight Kise, not seeing the absorbed look Kuroko was shooting at him, specifically at his blood.

/

Akashi flipped the next page of the novel, entranced with the content. His ears perked up once he heard a faint creak. Without looking up, he knew it was his best friend and companion Midorima.

"Do you need something Midorima?"

Midorima pushed up his spectacle, "I found it very strange of you to save a total stranger whom had no relation with you."

Akashi paused, "I had a feeling that he'll be an interesting addition to our group."

Midorima sighed, "That doesn't give you an excuse to just accept him without knowing anything about him. Who knows when he'll backstab us when he has the chance?... Or have your forgotten what happened in the past?"

That hit bullseye, "Of course not, I would never be able to forget that past, worry not Midorima. Remember what I told you more than a decade ago?" Akashi glanced up, holding Midorima's gaze.

"Are you implying that _that_ Kuroko Tetsuya is the one whom you had been watching out for 16 years?" Midorima remembered what happened exactly that Janaury 16 years ago. It was during a snowy season that Akashi had noticed a blue-haired baby by the orphanage's doorstep. However, the baby's cries wasn't loud enough to be heard due to the storm, therefore, Akashi had knocked on the door, attracting its residence's attention. Akashi had taken upon himself to donate baby clothes and necessities to the orphanage, under a disguise of a generous man giving away free items.

Since then, Akashi had silently watched over Kuroko in a distance. That said, Akashi had witnessed many pages of Kuroko's past and personally saw what Kuroko had went through.

Despite all that, Akashi had never interfered until now. He understand that interacting with a human will never lead to a good outcome, hence keeping a distance and not made himself known to Kuroko. But one day, he saw something very interesting and had a good feeling that Kuroko's not a human. He decided to investigate this matter more closely, however, he had to leave Japan for several years and it wasn't until when he came back when he had saw something that had confirmed his theory. When the moment the silver bullet had grazed Kuroko's cheek, he knew Kuroko was a vampire. But how come Kuroko's bloodlust never appear throughout his entire life? And that led to another mystery.

"Midorima, just trust me. I know what I'm doing." Akashi started and walked out the room not hearing what Midorima had to say afterwards.

"... You said that yet you still made that mistake hundreds of years ago... Akashi, you're too kind... Someone would no doubt take advantage of that kindness like he did..."

/

Kuroko shed his clothing and walked into the tub, turning on the lukewarm water. He closed his eyes and water dripped down from his head all the way to his feet. Only when he takes a shower can Kuroko truly calm down and think things thoroughly with a clear and fresh mind. Kuroko gently leaned on the cold smooth wall on his forehead, and the combination of the heat from the water and the coldness from the wall felt so nice.

His mind flashed back to what happened earlier. The sight of blood pouring out of Aomine's wounds made Kuroko's heart beat faster for some reason and suddenly, his veins pulsed excitedly.

From then on, the sight of blood never left his mind and he always drifted himself back to that scene, causing him to daydream throughout the day and lose focus. Whenever he thought of that crimson color, his throat ached so badly that Kuroko couldn't resist to scratch his throat in response. He assumed that he was just thirsty but no water or drink can quench that fiery thirst.

His burning throat left him in a panting state and it felt that his whole body was on fire. And there was that torturous sensation again. Kuroko's legs collapsed and he slide down the wall, sitting on the tub.

Kuroko felt a strong urge to sink his teeth in something and it felt that his teeth are really itching to bite. The feeling became worse when his whole body was eager for some action. He dug his nails into his flesh and hastily stratched his throat, creating deep and raw red marks. It felt like blood had flowed backwards and the blood all rushed toward his brain. Kuroko banged his head on the head and gripped his hair.

He felt very feverish and dizzy. All sane thoughts was thrown somewhere else and all Kuroko can focus on was blood. The same thoughts invaded his mind for the whole time: he wants blood. Red was all he can see and his vision was painted with red. It doesn't matter where he turns his head to, all he can see was red.

His gums suddenly throbbed painfully and it felt that something was growing out. He went to touch his gums to hopefully soothe the pain and was very startled when his two canine teeth were very sharp and longer than before.

Just what was going on?

Panic shook his body and sobs escaped his mouth. He bit down his lips and a metallic flavor attacked his taste buds. His heart thumped loudly and faster than before. His mind was telling him that he wants more.

Kuroko darted his eyes and landed on his shoulder.

More...

More!

MORE!

Without thinking and being sane, he bite into his shoulder and suddenly, his throat ceased to burn and it felt that a tranquil rain had helped die down the intense fire burning him. Kuroko drank greedily and hungrily.

When he finally stopped, blood was leaking out his wounds at a rapid rate and the left side of his body was covered with sticky blood. Two deep junctures are on his shoulder and the pain continued to burn.

Even though he doesn't feel thirsty now, his vision became very blurry and it felt that his surroundings are moving and are creating afterimages. Without warning, everything turned black and his whole body shuts down.


	3. Chapter 3

Muraskibara Atsushi strolled down the corridor in a slow pace. With one hand holding the bag of chips, the other hand reach in and feast upon the snack. One word to describe his current predicament is bored. He wasn't good at handling with any political affairs, basically leaving everything to Akashi and Midorima - the "brains" of the group. And so since they don't have any opponents to fight, Murasakibara was left with absolutely nothing to do.

But he does have a role in this group; he handles the security portion of their base and to him, defeating any enemies are as simple as defeating flies. Due to his abnormal height and with his vampire powers as a bonus, he was undefeatable in terms of strength, excluding, of course, their leader Akashi.

Contrary to common belief, Murasakibara wasn't a cold and heartless person who doesn't care about anyone other than himself. True, he appeared to be emotionless and acts like everything hardly matters to him; he just act upon Akashi's wishes like an obedient robot that functions as their master orders them to. However, beneath that cold surface, the baby titan does warm up to a few selected people - namely his close vampire friends, especially Akashi. Their leader was the first one to find him after that incident, accept him, and quickly, he worm himself into Murasakibara's heart despite the titan's wishes. But in the end, he was glad that Akashi decided to give attention to him.

 _Murasakibara, at the age of 79 summers, walked down joyfully to his house, whom he shares with his best friend, Himuro Tatsuya. He had known that he was a vampire since a long time ago, and he instintively knew that this was a secret he must kept. How? He himself can't answer that. It was like how you'll automatically help someone open a door without thinking about it. And so he kept quiet about his true identity, not daring to tell a single soul, including his most trusted companion._

 _He had heard of many news regarding barbaric vampires feasting upon defenseless humans, but Murasakibara didn't think too much about this. Vampires needed food to survive, just like humans; they'll only need some blood and that's it. Humans would only feel dizzy afterwards, but there'll be no harm done if the amount of blood being sucked away wasn't at a large amount. Eating - or rather drinking - is a must for survival, just like humans. Vampires are very similar to humans in that fashion, and Murasakibara thought that their species was perfectly normal until one night._

 _A loud scream reverberated throughout the town, which caused many residents to wake up, including Murasakibara. They all ran toward the source - or rather Murasakibara had to be dragged out by Himura - and found themselves in a dark and narrow ally with a bloodied body laying lifeless on the ground. Two punctures were present on the neck and the victim's eyes were open, staring into space. The woman's dress were also the color of red, but that wasn't what really bothered everyone at the moment; the woman had obvious scratch marks across her body and her limbs were all twisted in an unsightful fashion - it was exactly like how one would wring a wet rag._

 _The stench of blood invaded the air, and to some, it was too much to take. Few people had thrown up, sick to the stomach, while the others were all screaming. This obviously had meant something; this incident haven't occured in a long time, and once again, humans were reminded just how ferocious vampires can be - who else can it be? There's no way someone without supernatural powers can do something this horrible: it definitely has to be the work of a vampire. There was no way that they can coexist with one another._

 _"Monsters! Monsters! All vampires should all die!" They were all yelling along those lines. This was pure chaos and the vivid images slowly started to seep into their minds until they couldn't of anything else but the horrendous murder in front of them._

 _'But... not all vampires are savages. Isn't it too cruel to say that all vampires must be eradicated?' That was what Murasakibara wanted to say, but he didn't. Everyone was either frantically crying or going insane, and the police soon arrived, blocking and isolating the area._

 _Murasakibara was also pushed back, stepping a few steps backwards. As he watched the police scrutinizing the victim with various emotions, he called out, "Muro-chin..." He was about to extend a hand toward his best friend but stopped in its track._

 _Himuro's whole body was trembling fervently and uncontrollably, while having tears streaming down his face; he was obviously terrified that one day this might be his fate. He definitely would have no chances against a vampire, so if he ever saw a vampire attacking him, that'll be the end of him. "Why do vampires exist?..." he muttered and then shouted strongly, "those blood-hungry beasts should all die!"_

 _Murasakibara retracted his hand, and stared at his feet in silent._

 _'Muro-chin... gomen...'_

 _After a moment later, he lifted his head and the victim's eyes were still open, but it was as if she's staring a hole through Murasakibara, as if to accuse him that he's a murderer._

 _Murasakibara could only run away._

 _/_

 _Himuro knocked on the door desperately; his friend had locked himself in for weeks now, and this was killing him inside. Murasakibara had started acting weird after the incident and no matter how much Himuro plead him, Murasakibara wouldn't even talk to him._

 _Heck, Himuro wouldn't know if his best friend was alive if not for Murasakibara writing a small note, sliding it underneath the small gap between the ground and the door. But that was the only form of communication and after that single note, the purple-haired titan made no attempt to communicate again._

 _Himuro doesn't understand what was going on and despite him trying to seek an alternative and possibly persuade his best friend to come out, nothing works at all. And so this had became a pattern of sorts: Himuro would visit Murasakibara's house every morning, evening and night, and after his final visit for the day, he would leave food on the doorsteps._

 _But even that was pointless._

 _What was the point if his best friend wouldn't even touch the food?_

 _But one day however, the content of the bag was all gone, and Himuro gets his hopes all; could Murasakibara finally come to his senses and wouldn't try to starve himself? But all hopes were shattered when he saw small bits and pieces of the remnants in the bag; he then knew that his friend didn't ate it._

 _"Atsushi, please open the door! Don't do this to yourself! I don't know what went wrong, but let's talk it out, alright? Please, Atsushi!" Himuro's voice cracked, and he himself starts to panick as negative thoughts blinded him._

 _The images of last night's nightmare resurfaced, portraying Murasakibara. Himuro thought that his friend had come back to him, and so he ran forward, wanting to grab Murasakibara's hand, but the purple-haired male turned away and walked forward, not giving Himuro a second glance._

 _Once Himuro wakes up from his dream, he have a bad feeling; what if that dream is a prediction of what might occured soon? If that was the case, then he must act fast or else he'll lose the only person he cared about._

 _He already lost his only brother Taiga, and if he lose another one of his close ones, then he'll really break down this time._

 _"Atsushi, please! Talk to me! I don't care if you'll communicate using a note; as long it tells me that you're okay, anything's fine." He banged on the door once more, and after few minutes of no response, his legs went weak and he fell down. "Atsushi... talk to me... no matter what happens, I'll always be on your side..."_

 _/_

 _Murasakibara raised his head when he heard bangs coming from the door again._

 _'Ah, it's Muro-chin again.' Even when his best friend kept calling out to him, Murasakibara did nothing to open the door or at least say something to ensure Himuro that he's in_ _deed there._

 _After the incident, he realized one important thing: humans and vampires aren't meant to live together peacefully. There was just no way that it would work. His best friend is probably afraid of vampires, afraid of him, if Himuro were to realize that Murasakibara had been hiding this important fact from him. It would be impossible that Himuro will still want to be his friend after knowing this fact; he, like others, would come to hate him._

 _And so he decided to shut himself inside. Part of that was also to keep himself away from humans; who knows when he'll go on a rumpage and kill someone? He wants to believe that he's normal, but who can confirm that?_

 _While his extreme need for blood take over his senses never happened, it doesn't mean that it wouldn't happen in the future._

 _Murasakibara's afraid. Afraid of himself. What if one day he can't control himself and ended up harming the one whom he wants to protect the most?_

 _He wants to live peacefully with Himuro and the rest of the villagers, but would they also feel the same way once they realized just who exactly is Murasakibara Atsushi? Most likely not._

 _"Atsushi, please open the door! Don't do this to yourself! I don't know what went wrong, but let's talk it out, alright? Please, Atsushi!"_

 _'Ah, was Muro-chin crying?'_

 _It pains him to know that he was the one who caused these negative emotions to stir within Himuro, but... he has to do this. For Himuro's sake. For his sake._

 _The purpled-haired vampire grabbed his pillow to cover his ears in hopes that the material will muffle the sounds. The more he hear Himuro's voice, the more he will want to hug his best friend tight and apologize for making him worry._

 _But he can't._

 _'Muro-chin, gomen ne...'_

 _He grits his teeth to trap the choking sounds as wet, hot tears decorated his face._

 _'It hurts...'_

 _"Atsushi... talk to me... no matter what happens, I'll always be on your side..."_

 _He shake his head. No, his best friend would definitely hate him if he knows. And so he swore that he will keep this secret to his grave. The one thing he fears the most was Himuro hating him; that was the only thing he couldn't bear no matter what. Himuro is his first and only best friend, the first one who extends his hand to the vampire._

 _Without knowing where Murasakibara came from, Himuro brought a total stranger to his place and attended to him, making sure he was well fed and was comfortable with everything._

 _Just how can someone be naturally kind to another person? And so Murasakibara decided to stay with him and made a promise to protect him._

 _And so even if he gets harmed in the process, he would use his life to protect Himuro._

 _He grabbed his blanket and flung it over his head._

 _'Muro-chin...'_

 _/_

 _Once Murasakibara wakes up, he decided to do the one thing that he haven't atempted to do; to go outside. He figured that since it was now late in the night, no one would probably be out now, so now was the best time to breathe in fresh air and to clear his mind._

 _He unlocked his door and walked outside sneakily, making sure there are no one around him. This was his pattern all the way until he reached his destination: the clear and shallow lake._

 _The moonlight bring out the beauty of the crystal lake and instantly, Murasakibara felt his heart warmed up by the sight. This was always his most favorite spot out of all places; not only was here peaceful and serence, but the pure beauty of it can calm his nerves and tranquilize his pain._

 _He traveled down the slight slope and sat onto a round rock as he stared at the lake. Moments later, he dipped his hand slightly into the water and can feel the coldness against his warm hand. This sight makes him remember a painful memory and that small smile etched on his face instantly turns into a frown._

 _He and Himuro used to play in the water in the good, old days, and they would splashed each other with water, without a care of the rest of the world. In that moment, it was like time had froze and that there are only the two of them in their small world._

 _How nice was that?_

 _And just like how he used to do so in the past, Murasakibara take off his shoes before his feet sank into the water._

 _He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. And it was at that moment he made a final decision: he should leave this town and move into a remote place. That way he wouldn't have the fear of harming a human._

 _After he make up his mind, he opened his eyes and stood up to leave the place when suddenly, two arms wrapped his waist tightly._

 _Murasakibara let out a gasp as he widened his eyes in astonishment. Immediately, he knew who it was; after all, there is only one person who would do this._

 _"Muro-chin, let go," were his first comment after a long time of keeping his voice shut._

 _"No," Himuro replied firmly. "If I let go, I feel that you'll disappear from my life; I definitely won't let that happen." His fingers cluthed onto Murasakibara's shirt with a vice grip._

 _"...Why?" The unspoken question lingered in the air._

 _'Why won't you let me go? Why won't you let me disappear? Why?'_

 _"Why?" His eyes became watery. "Why you ask? Is there a need to even ask that? You're my best friend; of course, I don't want you to leave me."_

 _He turned Murasakibara around so that they were facing face to face, "I wouldn't understand what was tormenting you if you don't speak. I'm not a mind-reader," he chuckled weakly and caressed the purple-haired male's cheek tenderly. "Atsushi, don't do this to me and to yourself. Tell me all your worries; don't keep things bottled up inside and let me hear them all."_

 _"But-"_

 _Himuro placed a finger on his lips, "No 'buts'. I will always be by your side; I promise." He whispered and swallowed the lump in his throat._

 _"I... don't..." Murasakibara's bangs covered his eyes as he looked down._

 _'I don't deserve your kindness. A monster like me doesn't deserve it.'_

 _Himuro closed the distance between them and rest his head on Murasakibara's shoulder. "Tell me when you're ready, alright? Don't ever locked yourself away from me."_

 _Murasakibara returned the hug. "Muro-chin..."_

 _/_

 _The sun was too bright in his opinion, but he endured it for Himuro. This was probably his first taste of sunshine after what seems like eternity. He thought that it would still be the same, but the town had clearly undergone a drastic change; no more children running freely around the streets and no more crowded streets with the markets bustling with business. The town looked like it had been abandoned by people, but Murasakibara can tell that there are people living here, just... not out in the open._

 _Seeing Murasakibara's confused gaze, Himuro filled him in, "After the incident, people are terrified that they might be attacked, so they're all hiding in their repesective homes." The wind picked up pace, and blew the crumbled paper bag away, which landed on Himuro's shoe, but eventually got blown away again._

 _"But hey, at least we have the whole street to ourselves and don't need to worry about getting lost," Himuro commented with dry humor; it was his atempt to somewhat lift the tense atmosphere._

 _Murasakibara weakly returned the smile. "But... aren't you afraid that you'll..."_

 _"Of course I am in the face of a stronger race. But that doesn't stop me from living my life to the fullest. What good would it do for me hiding in my home and live in fear?" He shrugged. "I feel that everything will be fine with you by my side, Atsushi."_

 _Murasakibara nodded with determinaion, "I will protect you, Muro-chin!"_

 _"I know you will, but hey, I can protect you too."_

 _Murasakibara was stunned and a smile blossomed across his face._

 _Himuro pushed his friend teasingly, "You're not making fun of me, are you?"_

 _"Nope!"_

 _"Ne, Atsu-" Himuro wasn't able to complete his sentence when he felt a stinging pain coming from his neck. He felt something sinking into his flesh, and soon, that spot became wet, most likely due to blood._

 _A mop of black hair was within his view, and Himuro felt that his blood had run cold in an instant._

 _The vampire latching onto his neck looked at him, showing his red eyes and Himuro could only think of only one word: vampire._

 _Vaguely, he can hear Murasakibara's distressed voice coming from a distance, but everything happened too fast that his brain wasn't able to process everything._

 _The vampire released him, making sure to glide his fangs across the neck in a fierce way, leaving two long gashes in its wake. Himuro screamed, holding his wound. Blood poured out too fast, and at this rate, Himuro would die due to blood loss._

 _"Atsu... run!" Even at his weakened state, Himuro could only think about his best friend and could hardly care less that he would possibly enter death's door any minute. When Murasakibara didn't run, Himuro raised his voice, "Run! Run, Atsushi!"_

 _His heart was pounding too fast that it felt like the organ will jump out of his body. His body was enveloped by fear, but despite all of that, he doesn't want his best friend to suffer the same way._

 _When Murasakibara still didn't move, Himuro opened his mouth to speak, but ended up choking on his blood. And it was then that he noticed the predicament that he was in; his whole shirt was wet with crimson and sticky blood, and that liquid had painted across the ground around him._

 _The blood was spreading at an alarming rate; just few seconds ago, the blood had only reached around the top half of his shirt, and now, the blood had flowed across various areas of his clothing and surroundings._

 _His vision had started to blur and he can no longer see clearly. Everything became a jumbled mess, and very soon, all he can see was darkness._

 _Meanwhile, for Murasakibara who had witnessed everything, he couldn't believe in what he saw. Just few minutes ago, he and Himuro were joking and teasing, and in a flash, Himuro was attacked, and now he was unconscious... and possible dead even._

 _Ba-thump._

 _Ba-thump._

 _Ba-thump._

 _Murasakibara can only see red, and he glared at the perpetuator with immense hatred and fury. His body charged forward, using his supernatural powers as a boost, and could only think of one goal: to kill that vampire._

 _His nails sharpened and with the fast pace he was moving, the other vampire wasn't able to see his movements clearly. Murasakibara, without hesitation, slashed the vampire deeply, aiming to dealt deep but not deadly wounds._

 _This may seem as if he was showing mercy to his opponent, but that wasn't the case; he wants the vampire to suffer more and death would only end the pain. Murasakibara chopped off the vampire's arm, and while the vampire was screaming in excruciating pain, Murasakibara's hand entered through his abdomen, puncturing a large hole._

 _And while the vampire's blood had splattered across his face, he didn't stop._

 _He then slammed the vampire against the nearby house, and while the vampire was coughing up blood, Murasakibara proceeded to grab his heart and squeezed it with no mercy. Despite the fact that vampires are immortal, they can die with one of the most common method: to destroy their heart. And without their heart, they wouldn't be able to regenerate lost limbs or heal wounds. To them, their hearts are their top weakness._

 _Murasakibara's nails dug into the organ, and to the vampire, this was the most painful thing that he had experienced. Horrifying and broken screams for help went out of his mouth, but Murasakibara didn't stop._

 _This wasn't enough._

 _He slashed off another limb; a leg. Murasakibara's heart still ache with fury and grief; this was clearly not enough, and so he decided to crush the vampire's bones. He then came to a decision; he would savor the heart for last and would chop the vampire's body into bits and pieces._

 _"How do you feel?" Murasakibara questioned with sheer hate. He chopped off a finger, two, three, and when all fingers are gone, he moved on to the wrist, the elbow, and lastly, the shoulder. This was the same pattern for the vampire's other leg and by the time Murasakibara was done, the vampire only have his upper body intact, excluding his arms._

 _The rest of this body were all in pieces, gathering a wet pile on the ground._

 _And despite that he was in a bad condition, the vampire refused to surrender and laughed manically, head throwing backwards._

 _Murasakibara paused, "What's so funny?" He stared at his opponent with cold eyes._

 _The vampire spits the blood in his mouth, "You're funny, that's what. Why are you so emotional because a mere human died? Are you really a vampire?"_

 _Murasakibara considered his words: while he is a vampire, he certainly doesn't act like one. He wasn't a human too... he just doesn't belong with humans nor vampires._

 _The vampire smirked, and he used the opportunity to attack Murasakibara with his fangs. He managed to wound the purple-haired vampire on the shoulder before Murasakibara crushed his heart completely, exploding it into smithereens._

 _And that was the end of that vampire. After the whole ordeal, Murasakibara collapsed onto the ground and scanned his hands; they were covered with someone else's blood. The fresh blood covered up the dry ones, and Murasakibara thought, 'Ah. I'm just like the others. I'm a-"_

 _"Murderer! Get out of here, you vicious monster!"_

 _Murasakibara turned his head and stared at the citizens - whom he called his friends - labeled him as a murderer and monster. But he made no move to defend himself. He is a monster. That, he acknolwedges._

 _Purple eyes trailed to Himuro's fallen form and he looked at him one last time before standing up weakly. The citizens all took a step back, assuming that Murasakibara came to attack them for saying such insulting words._

 _But what happened was the complete opposite of what they assumed; instead, the purple-haired vampire left without saying anything, no words to defend himself nor words to apologize for what happened._

 _/_

 _It was now winter and once again, snow had fallen upon Earth, covering the whole landscape with pure white. Murasakibara was in a fetal position in an unknown area, hugging himself close._

 _Snow had piled over his head and shoulders, but the vampire made no attempt to dust them off. Life became meaningless after he lost Himuro, and many times he tried to kill himself, but always stopped. No doubt that he wants to join Himuro in the afterlife, but for some reason, whenever he tried to kill himself, it was like an invisble force will always stop him. But maybe that was all in his limagination and that he really is just a coward who was afraid of death._

 _But whatever the cause was, Murasakibara is at a loss for what to do, and so he decided to just sit there._

 _Maybe he can ask someone to end his life? Maybe he can..._

 _Murasakibara fell sideways as his head hit the snow: he had fallen asleep. His chest rise up and down. Up and down..._

 _/_

 _When he wakes up, he assumed that he was already dead, but of course, that wasn't the case. What greeted him was a light red ceiling and as he sat up to scrutinize his surroundings, he then noticed that he was in a really warm room, and... there was someone sitting beside him._

 _It was a red-haired male with red eyes as well; he was sitting with crossed legs with his hands folded on top of his lap. "How do you feel?" He asked._

 _"Why did you..." Murasakibara croaked._

 _"Why did I save you? I wonder why too. But vampires have an eternal life, so why are you not taking advantage of it? Instead, you're trying to end your life, per se."_

 _"...How?"_

 _"It's quite obvious: the smell of blood still lingered on your body." And as if reading Murasakibara's mind, he then added, "How can I smell it when it wasn't very obvious? Well, why do you think that was the case?"_

 _"...You're a vampire too," Murasakibara answered him._

 _He smiled, "Of course, it's up to you how you want to spend your life, but don't you think that there are so many things you can accomplish in life, whether it's now or in the future?" He stood up and paced himself towards the door, "You might think that life is meaningless, but is that truly the case? Well, I think that life is very interesting; you may experience things that drowns you or you may experience things that helps you rise high in the air. But all of these experiences builds up, which helps created the you today."_

 _With one hand on the doorknob, he turned his head slightly toward his guest, "And I want to explore this long life of mine and it would be a waste if I'm consumed by grief and end my life. Again, it's up to you: do you want to enjoy life or never enjoy them again?"_

 _With that last comment, he slipped past the door and after few feet out in the hallway, as expected, another pair of footsteps joined him. He smiled, "Good answer."_

Thinking back, his leader was strange, but Murasakibara was still attracted to him like bees are to honey. After that day, he never once regreted his choice in following after Akashi. Sure, even to this day, it still hurts to think about Himuro, but because of Akashi's influence, he was able to think positively again.

He reached in to grab another chip when he suddenly halted and snapped his head to the left. That smell...

He sprinted and reached Kuroko's room, which he immediately knocked it down. After following the smell of blood, he reached the bathroom and saw Kuroko with blood all over him and the tub.

 _"Atsu... run!" Himuro looked at Murasakibara and pleaded him. Meanwhile, the rate the blood came pouring out of his wounds increased, and Murasakibara can see nothing but blood. Himuro then raised his voice, "Run! Run, Atsushi!"_

This scene reminded him strongly of how Himuro looked like when he was about to die.

Even though he knew that Kuroko needed his help, Murasakibara did nothing to help him. He couldn't.

"Muro-chin..." Soon, his comrades came to the scene and as they rushed toward Kuroko, Akashi walked up to him.

He pats Murasakibara's back and said, "You can go out if it makes you feel better." The purple-haired vampire followed his advice.

After 30 minutes or so, the rest of the Generation of Miracles left Kuroko's room and Akashi walked towards Murasakibara's side.

"Is he... okay?" Murasakibara gulped.

"Yeah, don't worry, we stopped the blood." Murasakibara looked at Akashi's white shirt which was now the color of his hair. "Yeah," Akashi nodded. "I need to change later."

"Aka-chin, gomen..." He apologized for being so useless.

"No, Murasakibara," Akashi pats his head softly as he leaned down to hug the vampire tight. "It's not your fault."

* * *

 **It's been a long time, but I hope you'll forgive me with this long chapter I present you! I promise that now my writer's block's over, I will try to update regularly. Hopefully, once in every 1 or 2 months.**

 **As always, reviews would make me super happy :)**


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